Discovery Sr. Fellow George Gilder has been pushing me hard to write about the preposterous over-emphasis on polls in American politics today. I have agreed, but I especially have to concur as a result of today's New Hampshire presidential primary.
It would seem that all the polls were wrong, at least about the Democratic race. Even the exit polls were wrong, the actual results deviating from the polls taken from the voters themselves as they had cast their ballots.
Money is constantly emphasized as crucial in American politics, but maybe in a presidential race, at least, it can be an exaggerated influence, too. McCain ran out of money months ago and seems to have won anyhow. Huckabee never had any money and still won in Iowa and came in a respectable third in New Hampshire.
New Hampshire is a lot of fun in an presidential primary year. This year it also bespeaks the vitality of American retail democracy. All the major campaigns have a right to be proud.